Most people have heard the song 99 Problems by Jay-Z (if you haven’t come to my next dj gig and I’ll perform a live mash-up for you). In the second verse, Jay-Z is recounting a traffic stop he endured back in his drug smuggling days. There are a few lines in which he goes through his understanding of search & seizure law, some of which is not entirely accurate. Below I will explain some of the ins and outs of traffic stop law.

In July of last year, I posted a blog called Cameras in The Courtroom, about a pilot project called "OpenCourt," whereby a National Public Radio station in Boston began to stream live video and audio recordings of certain proceedings taking place in the Quincy District Court Department. These recordings would be viewable in real time, as well as be available to view as a recording on the OpenCourt’s website two days later.In response to new court decisions,...

In July of last year, I posted a blog called Cameras in The Courtroom, about a pilot project called "OpenCourt," whereby a National Public Radio station in Boston began to stream live video and audio recordings of certain proceedings taking place in the Quincy District Court Department. These recordings would be viewable in real time, as well as be available to view as a recording on the OpenCourt’s website two days later.In...

Did you know that if you have a party, and an intoxicated guest leaves and hurts someone, you could be held responsible under social host liability?A "social host" is an individual who provides alcoholic beverages to guests in his or her home. "Social host" liability is based on the idea that the server of alcohol has an obligation to the public at large to serve alcohol in a safe and responsible manner. Starting in the early to mid 1980s, many states began to examine the liability of social hosts as the deaths...

So it has been a little while since I last posted (over a month). Life has been busy, my wife and I recently moved, and I drafted a syllabus & application to teach a constitutional law course at a major university in the Boston area (keep your fingers crossed). I have a few blogs coming up. Today I will discuss new evolutions in consumer protection law & insurance agencies in Massachusetts (see previous blogs Massachusetts...

Today marks the end of constitutional rights as we know it. This was to be expected by a C+ student, but from a law review president?! The NDAA allows the U.S. military to conduct secret kidnappings of U.S. citizens, indefinite detentions, interrogation, torture and even murder. Forget a trial, your right to face your accuser, protection against unreasonable searches, seizures, and cruel & unusual punishment. Do not pass go, do not collect $200, go directly to jail and get waterboarded.Not only does this law allow...

SUMMARYA recent case will pit the meaning of the Constitution against the reach of modern surveillance technology, namely, whether police need a warrant before secretly attaching a GPS tracking device to a suspect's car. The facts of the case take us to Washington, D.C., where a nightclub owner was accused of drug trafficking, after police learned of his visits to a drug house by way of a tracking device installed without a valid warrant, and after raiding his home recovered nearly 100 kilograms of cocaine and $1 million (U.S....

Mattel v. MCA Records, 296 F.3d 894 (9th Cir. 2002)

Barbie has to chill. MCA released a song entitled "Barbie Girl," which didn't paint the toy doll in the best of light. After the song hit the Top 40, Mattel filed an infringement suit for the unfair use of the name. MCA countered by agreeing to place a disclaimer on the album stating that the song was "social commentary and not created...

It been a liiiiittle longer than the typical week since my last blog, so this week I’m bringing you a few gems. For the first blog here is some current events.The Supreme Judicial Court found that indictments charging a defendant with possession of a firearm and ammunition without a firearm identification card should not be dismissed in light of the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision in McDonald v. Chicago. The defendant contended that the statute under which he was charged is facially unconstitutional because it requires “prior...